Critics have given generally favorable reviews to the live recording of the 2017 Broadway musical Come from Away, available for streaming September 10 on Apple TV+. The creative team for the film includes Irene Sankoff and David Hein (book, music, lyrics), Christopher Ashley (direction), Kelly Devine (musical staging), Ian Eisendrath (music supervision, arrangements), Beowulf Boritt (sets), Toni-Leslie James (costumes), Howell Binkley (lights), Gareth Owen (sound), and August Eriksmoen (orchestrations).
The film cast includes original Broadway cast members Petrina Bromley (Bonnie), Jenn Colella (Beverley, Annette), Joel Hatch (Claude), Caesar Samayoa (Kevin J, Ali), Q Smith (Hannah), Astrid Van Wieren (Beulah), and Sharon Wheatley (Diane), as well as De’lon Grant (Bob), Tony Lepage (Kevin T), Emily Walton (Janice), Jim Walton (Nick, Doug), and Paul Whitty (Oz).
Movie Nation (Roger Moore): The gloriously sentimental 9/11 musical Come from Away comes to Apple TV with all its Canadian cuddliness intact. This filmed version of the Tony-winning show captures the charms of this folksy production. … It’s an old-fashioned show, not remotely as hip as the Lin-Manuel Miranda musicals that have turned such folksiness into antiques. But … Come from Away reminds us of time when people gathered together and did the right thing, and those they were doing it for appreciated them for it. 3 out of 4 stars
Paste (Amy Amatangelo): Its message, focused on what can be achieved when people come together for a collective life-affirming goal, is timeless. Perhaps now, when we are smack dab in the middle of another crisis, Come from Away can be an escape, a ray of light, a salve. … Often, filming a stage version cannot quite capture the magic of an in-person performance. That doesn’t happen here. Come from Away may be the best filmed version of a musical I have seen. … Beauty from tragedy is the foundation of Come from Away. An enduring message for us all.
San Francisco Chronicle (Lily Janiak): To see Come from Away onscreen now … is to see a path to mercy and compassion off in the distance and wonder if we can still get there — or if it’s too late for us. … The camera uncovers a whole new layer of meaning. You can see the worry lines on actors’ faces. You can see the deep care they put into listening to their scene partners. You can see the private moments of joy and whimsy they steal. … The film of Come from Away might offer a model for how digital and in-person theater can co-exist: how one might whet the appetite for the other, how TV might broaden the reach of an essential story at the moment we most need it.
St. Louis Dispatch (Bruce R. Miller): Come from Away was filmed before an audience. In the production, you get to see Christopher Ashley’s creative direction. … It’s Ashley’s Tony-winning direction that allows Come from Away to accomplish so much. … Come from Away provides such a release of emotions — in a good way — it should be required viewing for everyone who lived through that dark, dark day in American history. … Come from Away shines long after it’s over.
The Wrap (Alonso Duralde): It’s the kind of piece that makes one wish “a triumph of the human spirit” weren’t such an irredeemable cliché. … [Ashley] dynamically translates the material from stage to streaming. … There are, of course, countless prisms through which to examine the events of 9/11 and their lingering impact, but Come from Away offers one that is stirring and funny, moving but never mawkish. It’s a story that provides hope without turning its eyes from despair.